Clutch.



J, J. GILMARTIN.

CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 1913.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

- INVENTOH da/y/v G/AM/i/ffl/V BY ATTORNEYS WITNESSES W MM UNTTE SA AENTFFTQ.

JOHN J. GILMABTIN, OF GUILD, TENNESSEE.

CLUTCH.

Application filed. July 11, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN J. GILMARTIN, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Guild, in the county ofMarion and State of Tennessee, have made certain new and usefulImprovements in Clutches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in clutches, and has for its object toprovide a clutch, especially adapted for splicing flexible members ofmetal, as for instance cables, ropes, and the like, wherein mechanlsm isprovided for rigidly holding the ends of the cable together in the formof a square or reefing knot.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved clutchin place, Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section, Fig. 8 is a sectionat right angles to Fig. 2, Fig. 4

I is an edge view of the clutch with parts broken away, and, Fig. 5 is asection taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

The present embodiment of the invention comprises a block 1 of suitablematerial, and of elliptical contour longitudinally, the said block beingrectangular in cross section, and provided with a plurality of annulargrooves. The said grooves 2 and 3 are distinct at the sides of the blockand intermediate the ends thereof, While at the ends the said groovesmerge into each other, as indicated at at in Fig. 5. The grooves extendentirely around the circumference of the block, and they are shaped tofit the ends of the cable, when the said ends are connected in the formof a square or reefing knot.

The above-mentioned knot is formed in the following manner: Theextremity 5 of one of the sections 6 of the cable to be spliced isdoubled back upon the body of the section, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, toform a loop, and the extremity 5 of the other section 6 is passedthrough the said loop from below upward, and from rearwardly toward theobserver.

The extremity 5 is then passed behind the side members of the loop ofthe sect-ion 6, to the front of the said loop, and is then passedthrough the loop from the front rear wardly, and brought alongside thebody G of the section. With cables or ropes of fabric material, theknots so formed will hold when the said knot is pulled tight, and thegreater the traction on the cable the more tightly the knot will hold.With cables Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

Serial No. 778,453.

of metal, however, the knot will not hold, on account of the lack ofsufiicient flexibility to permit the constituent elements of the knot tobe pulled into firm and tight contact with each other. The side walls ofthe grooves 2, 3 and d of the block are so shaped, however, that whenthe ends of the cable are connected in the manner specified above, thedouble loop will fit within the said grooves 2, 3 and 4, as shown inFig. 2. A substantially rectangular frame 7 of metal is provided forencircling the block and the doubled loops formed, and a pin 8 is passedthrough a transverse opening in the block, and through registeringopenings in the side members of the frame, to hold the frame in place onthe block. The pin is provided at one end with a head 9, and at theother with an opening for receiving a cotter pin 10 or the like, toprevent displacement of the pin. That portion of the block inclosed bythe bottom of the groove is shaped, as shown in Fig. 2, to fit withinthe doubled loop of the knot, so that when strain comes upon the remoteends of the sections 6 and 6, those portions of the knot which areadjacent to the said portion of the block will be firmly clamped betweenthe outer portions of the knot, and the said portion of the block, aswill be evident from an inspection of Fig. 2. That is, the side membersof each loop will be compressed between the said portion of the blockand the body of the other loop, so that there can be no slipping of theloops with respect to each other. The extremities 5 and 5 of thesections of the cable are connected to the bodies of the sections, bymeans of bindings 11 of cord or wire, as shown in Fig. 1. It is obviousthat the bindings 11 might be replaced by metal clips or clamps of anydesired construction.

As is known, steel cables are guaranteed to sustain a certain weight,and it is extremely difiicult to connect the ends of a broken cable insuch manner that the full lifting capacity of the cable is retained.With the improved block, however, there is no weakening of the cable atthe knot.

I claim:

1. The combination with cable sections, of a clutch for connecting thesaid sections, each section of the cable having its end doubled backupon the body of the cable to form a loop, the outer end of each sectionof the cable and the inner end thereof being passed through the loop ofthe other cable section, and a block of elliptical shape having a grooveextending around its periph eral surface and shaped to fit Within thedouble loop, a substantially rectangular frame engaging the block at thecenter thereof, the ends of the frame passing transversely of the sidesof the loops, and a pin passing through the block and the frame to holdthe frame in place, the extremity of each cable section being secured tothe body of the section.

2. The combination With cable sections, of a clutch for'connecting thesaid sections, each section of the cable having its end doubled backupon the body of the cable to form a loop, the outer end of each sectionof the cable and the inner end thereof being passed through the loop ofthe other cable section, and a block of elliptical shape having a grooveextending around its peripheral surface and shaped to fit Within thedouble loop, and a substantially rectangular frame engaging the block atthe center thereof, the ends of the frame passing transversely of thesides of the loops.

JOHN J. GILMARTIN.

Witnesses:

/VALTER L. MoGILL, Gno. W. NAILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

